Review By Matt Stockmal

On June 17, 2011 The New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys stopped in Chicago to preform at the United Center. The two boy band superpowers preformed an unforgettable show for a sold out crowd at the United Center. The concert in total had 34 numbers including the final and opening number which featured both of the bands. 

The opening acts for the show featured Ashlyne Huff and Jordin Sparks. Jordin played all of her hit songs like “Tattoo”, “I am Woman”, and “One Step at a Time”. Ashlyne Huff sung song off her new album “Let it Out”. The performance was above par, but she was extremely hard to hear over the overpowering D.J.

The main act started with the two bands standing together on a lowering platform singing a medley of “Single” and “The One”. the rest of the concert seamlessly flowed as the Backstreet Boys sang hits like “Larger than Life”, Show Me the Meaning of being Lonely”, “I Want it That Way”, and the famous “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). These songs were countered by the New Kids on the Block’s “Summertime” and “Step by Step”. The signature boy band dancing in the concert was what you would expect of 30 to 40 year old men. The synchronous dancing was nothing like when they were in their glory days, but it was nothing to complain about. The ending number of the concert where both bands sing a medley of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ and “Hangin’ Tough”

Because the boy band genre is slowly becoming outdated and the Backstreet Boys main popularity was around 12 years ago, the male 16 year-old concert lover was the definite minority in the crowd. You could hear from the moment the bands appeared on stage that the crowd was mostly women in their thirties and forties. All of whom are still reminiscing of their love of one of the band members when they were in high school or college. The crowd was ear piercingly loud when A.J. McLean took off his shirt in one of the numbers. When you hear 16,000 women screaming at the top of their lungs your perspective on the scale of what is loud and what isn’t totally changes.

In conclusion this concert was a great retrospect of the glory days of the boy band and like their ad’s motto says it is a once in a lifetime experience.